Fretting corrosion preventing means



y 1952 R. A. BAUDRY ET AL FRETTING CORROSION-PREVENTING MEANS Filed Nov. 26, 1948 WITNESSES; i7

25 INVENTORS Rene A.Boudry and.

Paul R.Hel|er- ATTORNEY 8 7 Fig...

Patented May 20, 1952 2,597,055 ,ER'ETTIKG CORROSION PREVENTING MEAN Ren ApBaudry, Pittsburgh, and Paul R. Heller, "Irwin,-Pa.,jassignors to Westinghouse Electric Corporation, EastPittsburgh; Pa., a corporation 2i Penns v nian cppli uonno em er 26, 1945s, Serial No. 2,136

,Ourinvention relates to means for preventing (-andi'b'y preventing we niean a't 'least ameliorat- 1ng), -a'type of corrosion-or erosion which has received considerable" engineering-attention in ec nt ar n hichnflows t b kno as fretting 'corrqsian. It is a phenomenonwhereby the two abutting surfaces of 'two members is a plate, .the other side of which is subjected to variable localized pressures normal to-the surface of the plate fl estshave shown that these localized variable pressures spread out as they aretr'ansmittd through the pir'assure-plate, resulting in an extremely small tangential frettingmovement, of the order of a few micro-inches, at the abutting back-surface of the pressureplate, which causes minute frictional motions or slippages between different portions of the two abutting surfaces. It is these small relative .motions or slippages, in whatever manner they may becaused, which, for some asv yet unexplained reason, apparently cause accelerated oxidation at the -'ab'ijittirig surfaces; tia llfiill Said surfaces 1 to become "panac a to :be eaten 'awavin what is c. q mes qrt ss pn 'I'he'means for deal'ng with this relatively. new c i re xtreme limi e Thus far, tli'ehearch'for suitable 'pairs of dissimilar materials, or oxide-resistant materials or surfaceti s t re e ce or ub icants we n these abutting surfaces, have shown some varia-l tion in the rate of wear, but none of said means has so far been found to give anything like com;

plete immunity. So far, at least in those cases where the relative slippage between corresponding points in the abutting surfaces is caused by variable localized normal'pressu'res on the other side of the pressure-plate, the best Way of preventing fretting corrosion is to make the pressure-plate sufficiently thick so that the tangential fretting-movements of points on its backsurface are sufficiently small to be tolerable'from the'standpoint of fretting corrosion. However, space-limitations do not always admit of designing the pressure-plate so that "it has the requisite thickness, and this fact is particularly true in old mach es n service. f e. pertlcu ar purpos of our p t ines which hav developed fretting- 3 Claims: (01. 308-161 v'ention to provide means for preventing fretting co'rrosion' in structures in which the thick-' ness of the 'pressure plat'e cannot be made sufliciently great to avoid fretting-corrosion trouble Without any special treatment of the two abutting surfaces. Morespecifically, it is an object of our invention to provide a fretting-corrosion-preventive means 'whichprovides 'sufiici'ent flexibility at the abuttingsurfacesto permit relative motion between the parts without causing relativeslippage or motion at the "contacting surfaces. In other words, the tangential displacements due to said fretting-movement do not produce shearing-forces as great as the force necessary "to overcome friction and produce relative tangential movement at any point in the abutting surfaces.

A more specific object of our invention is to improve a large umbrella-type vertical-shaft electric generator, or other vertical-shaft machine in which the weight of the rotor-member is supported by a shoe-type thrust bearing in which there is danger of fretting corrosion trouble between the top surface of the runnerplate and the bottom surfaceof the thrust-collar sures produce periodic unintentional frettingmovements in two directions, both circumferentially and radially, so as to tend to produce fretting-corrosion at the back or topof the runnerplate, atthe point where it contacts the thrust- I collar without any intentional relative movement beween these two'abutting surfaces.

Two exemplary forms of embodiment of my invention are shown in the accompanying drawing, wherein;

Figure 1 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view of the right half of the upper end of an umbrellaetype electric generator having a thrustbearing assembly embodying our invention;

Fig; 2 is an enlarged diagrammatic sectional view of one of the abutting members, showing the provision of cross-cuts in the abutting surface, for providing, in effect, a plurality of cantilever beams, which take the thrust between the two abutting surfaces," and which at the 5 same time provide sufficient lateral or tangential fickibility to avoid the frictional movements which produce fretting-corrosion;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged face-view of the resulting surface, having the criss-cross cuts therein, or a fragmentary view on the section-line III--III in Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 4 is a still further enlarged diagrammatic view, not to scale, which will be referred to in the explanation of the tooth-movement and the forces thereon; and

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary view of an alternative means for providing sufficient flexibility at the abutting surfaces.

In Figure l, we show the upper end of an umbrella-type generator having a stator-frame, which is shown broken away, as indicated at I, and having a rotor-member which is represented by its vertical shaft 2. The weight of the rotormember is supported by a thrust-bearing assembly 3 of the type in which a plurality of nonrotating, but pivotally supported, bearing-shoes or pads 4 are carried by a stationarystructure 5 which is supported from the frame I. The top surfaces 6 of the bearing-shoes 4 take the downward thrust of the bottom surface 6' of a rotating runner-plate I. This runner-plate I has a top surface 8 which abuts against the bottom surface 9 of a thrust-collar [0 which, in the illustrated case, is cast integrally with the shaft 2.

Both the thrust-collar l0 and the runner-plate 1 are rotating at the same speed, being keyed together, as indicated at H, and it is not intended that there should be any relative movement between the same. However, experience and tests have shown that there is the previously mentioned extremely small amount of tangential fretting-movement (or movement in the plane of the abutting surfaces 8 and 9), and this movement may be as much as 30 micro-inches, representing the maximum amount by which a point on one of the abutting surfaces is displaced relatively to what should be a corresponding point on the other abutting surface. It will be understood that the relatively rotating bearing-surfaces 6, 6 operate under oil, the top level of which is indicated at l2, said oil being contained in an oilreservoir l3 carried by the stator-frame I, and being cooled by suitable cooling-coils l4.

Our invention consists of the addition or provision of any suitable means for providing flexibility at the supposedly non-moving contacting surfaces 8 and 9. Any means which will provide adequate flexibility without deterioration will answer the purposes of our invention.

In Figs. 2 and 3, we have illustrated a very convenient form of flexibility-producing means, which is preferably applied to either one (or possibly both) of the abutting surfaces 8 or}. By way of example, we have illustrated this means as being applied to the bottom surface 9 of the upper abutment-member or thrust-collar ID. The illustrated flexible means, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, consists of a plurality of criss-crossed cuts or grooves 15, providing a plurality of teeth [6 which are illustrated, by way of example, as having a square cross-section. As shown in Fig. 2, these teeth [6 thus constitute, in effect, a plurality of spaced parallel stubby cantilever-beams, having their upper ends fixed, or built-in integrally, with respect to the material of the thrusteollar 10. These teeth or cantilever-beams l6 carry the bearing-pressure, which appears as a force N (Fig. 4) which is normal to the free ends or bottom end-faces of the beams, while at the same time the beams can be laterally deflected,

the free ends of the cantilever-beams or teeth l6 should not tilt up at an angle with respect to abutting surface 8, when the beams are bent laterally, but---these beam-ends should remain resting fiat against said abutting surface 8, as shown diagrammatically in Fig. 4. Consequently, the beam l6 operates like a beam which is fixed or built-in at both ends, behaving like two cantilever-beams, each of one-half of the length of the tooth l6, these two hypothetical equivalent cantilever-beams being rigidly joined together at their free ends, that is, at the place corresponding to the center-l1 of the tooth l6, as shown in Fig. 4.

The following nomenclature Will be used in the explanation of our invention:

d=defiection of the beam, in inches Inthe case of. a cantilever-beam, ora beam whichis fixed or built-in at only-one end, with ashear-force T applied tangentially at its free end, and with a normal force N applied against the free end of the beam, the condition which is necessary to prevent one edge of the free end of the beam from tilting away from the surface whichis applying the normal pressure N (that is, the, condition which is necessary to make the beam equivalent to one which is built-in at both ends), is that the bending-stress s must be less than the normal stress n, or

whence (2) v or N -The formula for the deflection d is The maximum deflection which can be obtained without frictional slippage due to the normal force N depends upon the coefiicient of fric- 5 tion ,j and canbe obtained by substituting law-min e a me 12 If. theactualdeflection dis less than this maxinfium. orrcritical'defiectiondmax, there will beno slippage, between'thefront faces of the teeth l6, and the surface 8-which is, pressing thereagainst witharelative lateralimovement having angamplitudeglof,'djinches. Under. these conditionsfthe actualtangential'or shear-stress on each beam or. tooth lfifwillbe anqtn sh ,force o. ea tooth or b m w lhe (-6) andthe normal force or pressure per tooth will be N 0,0 (.2 2;,100 pounds. If we assume a. coefii'cient of friction of 7:2, and a cast-iron tooth-material having then the maximum or critical deflection which would be possible without producing slippage wouldbe 82.9X10 inch ,If we assume an actual deflection (or amplitude of relative movement) of d= 10 inch, thelsheafiforce on each beam or tooth [.6 ,will be in 82.9

which would result in a bending-stress of in each tooth. Comparing this bending-stress s=1017.5 with the normal stress n=2500, it is seen that the condition, expressed in inequality (1), for no tilting of the tooth-ends, is satisfied with a good margin of safety. Also, the actual shear-force, T=7.24, on each tooth is less than the force necessary to produce slippage, or Tmax=100 .2'=20, by a considerable factor of safety. Hence it will be seen that the assumed construction is a safe construction for the assumed bearing-pressure and amplitude of relative movement, so as to safely avoid frettingcorrosion.

In the design of the thrust-bearing shown in Fig. 1, the runner-plate I, which operates as a pressure-transmitting plate, has to have accurately parallel and smooth top and bottom surfaces 8 and 6'. The bottom surface 6', in particular, has to be extremely smooth and accurate, because it constitutes the bearing-surface. On this bearing-surface, an unevenness of the order of 10 micro-inches or less, as measured by a profilometer, is satisfactory. The upper or backsurface 8 of the runner-plate I does not have to T= 100x .2 =7.24 pounds =l017.5 p. s. i.

vasurfacebeing still ,a very smooth surface. In

fact, this order 'off smoothness. of the upper surface 8 .is. desirable, because. itresults in agreater friction-coefficient] thanf would have beenthe caseif the surfacehad been made as smooth as ih ibea ieer urf e 6' It will; beunderstoodthat the foregoing calculations .and. specific dimensions are. presented nlvb -We o 1i ,r itie l a e l n n to i limit. our;- invention ,to the precise details. indicated except forthe general essential features hi h havefbe nexple' W .Wi h. to pheeize;g hat in h breeder aspe ts f 9 1 in ent o fi l p eul h use for. prov in he neeee er l fle i il i etwe nt e..abii tinae riaees 8 ndw er re ne-eo ree n.=i nds o e st- T u ml i awe ha e llustr d. t u o a ,flexible pad or composite washer, which is intendedi e inee i eb tw e es b s rfaces il and of the ;-two abutting members .1 and 4 1.v .A show .11 Fi i e ib typrevidinj m anscen se a p u a ty of pa a l l stubby, beams: 01'; rods 10 .which extend between the. .two a uttin su fa es n fii r rably. these rodsi l are m d o ea'm t s h as ma nesium, whi 0re fl l -i en or stee1...or. .in eneral, wh c is..,m0 x le h the.mate ial:or.;;materia e w ch t e abutt n members. ,1 'andhlgfl. .are made. In other. words, thematerialofthe parallelstubbybeams or rods 2 as .ai'smallenmoclulus o elast c ty h h material of the memb rs a d 0' between which theyare placed.

.Any suitablemeans maybe provid r heldingthelparallel,spaced beams or rods 20 in their parallel. spacedpositions. In Fig. 5, this holdin meansis shown. inthe form of amolded-materialwasher v21.. which is .provided witha plurality of holes 22 .for .receiving the respective beams, or rods 20. In Fig. 5, also, the beams or rods :20 are illustrated as having a spool-like configuration, each consisting of a shank-portion 23 and enlarged ends 24 and 25. The rods 20 in Fig. 5 operate the same as the beams or teeth IS in Figs. 2 and 4, and are susceptible of a similar mathematical treatment.

While we have specifically illustrated our invention in an application to a thrust-bearing of a dynamo-electric machine or generator, and while we have illustrated only two specific forms of embodiment of our invention, we wish it to be understood that our invention is applicable to other machines in which fretting-corrosion troubles may be existent or imminent, and our invention is also susceptible of being embodied in other specific forms of embodiment. We desire, therefore, that the appended claims shall be accorded the broadest construction consistent with their language.

We claim as our invention: 9

1. A machine having a relatively moving member and a relatively stationary member, one of said members including a pressure-plate which is so related to the other member that there is a variable pressure-reaction or reactions normal to the front face of said pressure-plate, and an abutment-member having a surface against which the back face of said pressure-plate abuts without any relative movement other than the extremely small tangential fretting-movement due to said variable pressure-reaction'or. reactions, characterized by fretting-corrosion-preventive means including a plurality of spaced cuts or grooves, in the abutting surface of one of said abutting members, for providing in effect a plurality of supporting-beams having sufficient flexibility at the abutting surfaces so that the tangential displacements due to said frettingmovement do not produce shearing-forces as great as the force necessary to overcome friction and produce relative tangential movement at any point in the abutting surfaces, said beams further having such dimensions that their bendingstress under operating conditions is less than the normal shear-stress on their end-t-faces.

2. A machine having a relatively moving member and a relatively stationary member, one of said members including a pressure-plate which is so related to the other member that there-is a variable pressure-reaction or reactions normal to the front face of said pressure plate, said variable pressure-reaction being confined to a spot of limited extent in two diiferentdirections, and an abutment-member having a surface against which the back face of said pressureplate abuts without any relative movement other than the extremely small tangential fretting movement due to said variable pressure-reaction or reactions, characterized by fretting-corrosionpreventive means including two sets of intersecting cuts, or grooves, crossing each other, each set including a plurality of spaced cuts or grooves, in the abutting surface of one of said abutting members, for providing in effect a plurality of supporting-beams having sufficient flexibility at the abutting surfaces, in both of said directions, so that the tangential displacements due to said fretting-movement do not produce shearingforces as great as the force necessary to overcome friction and produce relative tangential movement at any point in the abutting surfaces, said beams further having such dimensions that their bending-stress under operating conditions is less than-the normal shear-stress on their endfaces.

V V a 8 l a 3. A vertical-shaft machine comprising a stator-member and a vertical-shaft rotor-member, said machine having a thrust-bearing for supporting the weight of the rotor-member and having a plurality of non-rotating bearing-shoes supported by said stator-member, a rotating runner-plate having a bottom bearing-surface pressing against the tops of said shoes, and a rotating thrust-collar which is rigidly secured to said shaft and which has a lowerv abutmentsurface against which the top backing surface of said runner-plate abuts without any relative movement other than the extremely small fretting-movement due to the rotation of the centers of pressure existing in the centers of the shoe-surfaces as the runner-plate rotates over the shoes, said thrust-bearing being characterized by fretting-corrosion-preventive means including two sets of intersecting cuts, or grooves, crossing each other, .each set including a plurality of spaced cuts or grooves, in the abutting surface of one of said abutting members, for providing in eifect a plurality of supporting-beams having sufficient flexibility at the abuttingsurfaces so that the tangential displacements due to said frettingmovement do not produce shearing-forces as great as the force necessary to overcome friction and produce relative tangential movement at any point in the abutting surfaces, said beams further having such dimensions that their bendingstress under operatingconditions is less than the normal shear-stress on their end-faces.

RENE: A. BAUDRY.

PAUL R. HELLER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Almen Mar. 1, 1949 

